Sen. Raphael Warnock introducing bills aimed to lower housing costs

GARDEN CITY, Ga. (WTOC) - U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock announced his plans for rent and housing relief efforts in Garden City Wednesday.

According to Senator Warnock, rent went up more than 13 percent in Georgia since 2019.

Senator Warnock says he’s working a rent relief bill and he’s working on several housing relief bills as well.

“People need relief right now.”

Welcomed by the Garden City Mayor, U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock introduced three bills while standing in front of a Garden City home built by Habitat for Humanity.

“It’s a short-term effort to help people struggling right now. There’s some larger structural issues that do need to be addressed.”

The Rent Relief Act will cut taxes for renters whose rent is more than 30 percent of their income. Tax credits for renters in difficult development areas will increase by a fixed amount. The American Dream Down Payment Act will let people grow savings in a tax free account to put towards a down payment for a home and give family and friends the opportunity to contribute to those savings.

“This will provide for folks who are just trying to pay rent so they can go to work, so their lives can be stable, their children can do their homework. The other piece of legislation helps people to reach the American dream, to buy a home,” Senator Raphael Warnock said.

The third bill, Housing Market Transparency would force the Housing and Urban Development or HUD secretary to collect Low Income Housing Tax Credit program data. He says the data will make the program more efficient and transparent to tenants.

He says housing is a human right and this should be a bipartisan issue to tackle. He hopes that it comes to fruition.

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